Wall stud

ABSTRACT

A wall stud has two sidewalls interconnected by a spanning web that includes first and second portions connected to respective sidewalls and being connected themselves by a curved member, preferably of semicircular shape. The curved member also has at least one row of longitudinal slots formed along its length. Sound insulating material may be packed within the stud.

The present invention relates to a wall stud having improved acoustic and mechanical properties.

A common building technique for the fabrication of building walls, and in particular internal walls, is to fasten sheets of walling material, such as plasterboard, to vertical channel section beams known as wall studs. Typically, each stud is secured to a horizontal beam or channel secured to either the floor or ceiling of the room in which the interior wall is being constructed. This wall construction technique is both relatively simple and inexpensive and further allows existing room spaces to be subdivided if required, for example when altering the use of an existing building.

Rather than fasten a sheet of plasterboard to either side of the same wall stud, it is common practice to use two rows of parallel wall studs and fasten a single sheet of plasterboard to the outside faces of each of the paired studs. This is done to create a relatively large air gap within the resulting wall that provides low frequency sound insulation.

However, this kind of ‘double stud’ construction usually requires some form of brace to be fastened between parallel studs spanning the air gap to give the structure adequate strength. As the brace provides a necessarily stiff connection between studs, it also provides a bridging sound transmission point, reducing the sound insulating performance of the wall. Although attempts have been made to overcome this problem by providing the braces with resilient portions intended to reduce their sound transmission properties, it remains less than totally satisfactory.

Furthermore, by using a double row of studs for a single wall, the cost of materials used, and time required to install two rows of tracks, is significantly increased over the costs that would be incurred if a single stud construction could be used.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a wall stud comprising two opposing sidewalls interconnected by a spanning web, the spanning web comprising first and second substantially planar members connected to the respective sidewalls and a curved member interconnecting the first and second planar members, the curved member having at least one row of elongate slots formed therein along a longitudinal axis thereof.

It is therefore possible to provide a channel section wall stud in which the single web interconnecting the two sidewalls to which respective sheets of walling material will be fastened has a cross section corresponding substantially to a letter C having elongate sidearms.

Additionally or alternatively, the curved member has a plurality of rows of elongate slots formed therein, adjacent rows being longitudinally offset from one another. The slots are preferably at least twice the length of the interconnecting portions of the curved member. Optionally, the width of the curved member (i.e. the diameter of the semicircular embodiment) is approximately equal to the width of each of the first and second planar members.

Preferably, the curved member is substantially semicircular.

At least one of the sidewalls, and more preferably both, has a longitudinal acute groove, for example, a V-shaped groove, extending over at least a portion of the length of the stud. Additionally, the acute groove is located substantially midway across the width of the sidewall.

Preferably, at least one of the surfaces of the sidewalls facing away from each other has a plurality of depressions formed therein. Additionally, the depressions may be pyramidal in shape. Additionally or alternatively, the depressions may be formed by a deep knurling process and/or a corrugating process. The depressions increases the stiffness of the sidewalls, thus making it easier to fasten wall boards to the stud.

Optionally, a first non-woven tissue may extend across opposing edges of the curved member, whereby an enclosed space is defined between the non-woven tissue and the curved member, and a second non-woven tissue may extend between the opposing sidewalls.

Alternatively, a sheet of material having sound insulating properties may extend between the opposing sidewalls. The sheet of material may comprise glass or rock mineral wool matting, spun bonded polyester wool foamed plastics, or any other suitable sound absorbing material.

Embodiments of the present invention are described below, as illustrative examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a wall stud according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the wall stud shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a wall stud according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a wall stud according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a front view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a wall stud according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a wall stud according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a stud wall construction according to the prior art; and

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a stud wall construction using a stud according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates in plan view a first embodiment of the present invention. The stud 2 has first and second sidewalls 4, 6 to which, in use, sheet walling material, indicated by chained lines 8, 10 can be attached. The sidewalls 4, 6 are substantially parallel to one another and/or substantially equal in width, their length being equal to the length of a wall stud and therefore equivalent to the height of the wall being constructed. Interconnecting the sidewalls 4, 6 along respective edges is a spanning web 12 that comprises first and second planar portions 14, 16 projecting from the respective sidewalls 4; 6 and a curved member 18 interconnecting the first and second planar portions. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the curved member is semicircular, such that should two identical wall studs be brought together with their spanning webs 12 adjacent to one another, the respective curved members 18 will form a complete circle. Additionally, in-turned flanges 20, 22 extend inwards from the free edges of the sidewalls 4, 6 and are substantially parallel to the portions 14, 16.

FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of the stud shown in FIG. 1 and it can be seen that the curved member 18 has a number of longitudinal slots 24 formed along its length and, in the embodiment shown, along the central axis of the curved member 18. In preferred embodiments the length of the longitudinal slots 24 is at least twice that of the interconnecting portions of the curved member 18. Contrary to expectations, it has been found that the provision of the curved member 18 and the slots 24 do not significantly weaken the wall stud when compared with standard “C” studs. It is thought that the curved member 18 introduces sufficient resilience to the wall stud to allow some flexing of the stud, which absorbs some of the vibrational energy imparted to the wall stud 2 by soundwaves incident on the sheet wall members 8, 10. It is thought that the longitudinal slots 24 further improve the sound insulating qualities of the stud 2 by providing a physical break in the transmission path of the sound vibrations through the curved member 18. The slots 24 also minimise the material used in spanning web 12.

Also visible in FIG. 2, are the plurality of pyramid shaped depressions 26 that are formed in the outside surfaces of the sidewalls 4, 6. The depressions are preferably formed by deep knurling the sidewalls 4, 6 during manufacture of the stud 2, although other suitable manufacturing processes may also be used. Equally, other shaped depressions may additionally or alternatively provided, such as corrugations. Each depression is preferably 2 mm square and 2 mm in-depth and are formed in a repeating pattern 2 mm apart from one another. The depressions increase the stiffness of the sidewalls making it easier to attach sheets of wall material to them, for example using screws. Also more clearly visible in FIG. 2 are acutely angled grooves 28, 30 formed within the respective sidewalls 4, 6 and directed towards each other.

Preferred dimensions for the wall stud 2 are as follows:

The spanning web 12 may be between 40 mm and 150 mm in width.

The width of the curved member 18, or diameter, may be approximately ⅓ of the total width of the spanning web 12, with the curved member 18 located substantially centrally in the web.

The width of the sidewalls 4, 6 may be between 32 mm and 52 mm.

The width of the interned flanges 20,22 may be between 6 mm and 12 mm.

The length of the slots 24 may be approximately 70 mm.

The separation of the slots 24 may be between 10 mm and 25 mm (i.e. the length to separation ratio of the slots is approximately 3:1).

The width of the slots 24 is approximately between 1 mm to 4 mm.

FIG. 3 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention in which more than a single row of elongate slots are provided along the length of the curved member 18. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 a first and second row of slots 24, 25 is provided, with the second row of slots 25 being displaced along the length of the curved member 18 by approximately half the length of a slot with respect to the first row of slots 24. The two rows of slots are equally spaced apart across the curved member 18.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further embodiment having a first, second and third row of elongate slots 24, 25, 27 provided along the length of the curved member 18, with the third, middle, row of slots 27 being displaced relative to the first and second rows 24, 25. In other embodiments further rows of slots may be provided, preferably equally spaced around the curved member 18.

By providing multiple rows of elongate slots the ability of the stud to transmit sound waves is further reduced. In the illustrated embodiments it is preferred to displace the rows of slots with respect to one another to maintain sufficient strength within the stud. However, other arrangements of the rows of slots may be utilised in conjunction with appropriate stud materials and the illustrated embodiments are not to be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention.

A further embodiment of a wall stud according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5. As in FIGS. 1 to 4, the stud includes first and second planar portions 14, 16 interconnected by a curved member. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, a row of diagonal slots 24′ is provided in the curved member. The slots extending across a substantial proportion of the circumference of the curved member but not across its entirety.

FIG. 6 illustrates a plan view a further embodiment of wall stud according to the present invention. The stud 2 has a non-woven fibreglass tissue 32 extending across the open face of the curved member 18 and attached to a first and second portions 14, 16 of the spanning web 12. A second non-woven tissue 34 extends between opposing surfaces of the sidewalls 4, 6. The provision of the non-woven fibreglass tissue increases the sound absorbing performance of the wall stud 2.

FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of wall stud according to the present invention in which a sheet of sound absorbing material 36 extends between opposing faces of the sidewalls 4, 6, substantially filling the space defined by the sidewalls and spanning web 12 of the stud 2. The sound absorbing material 36 may be fibreglass insulation, spun bonded polyester wool, or any other suitable material. As for the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 provides an improved sound insulation performance for the stud 2. Both of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 reduce the sound transmission across the stud by approximately 2 dB.

A stud wall construction according to prior art techniques is schematically illustrated in FIG. 8. Two parallel vertical studs 81 and 82 are provided, to each of which a single sheet of plasterboard or other walling 83 is fastened. Each row of studs is located in an upper and lower horizontal track. To add structural rigidity to the wall construction a brace 84 is fastened between the studs 81, 82. The brace 84 has a resilient section 85 formed by folded sections of the brace in an effort to reduce its sound transmission qualities.

This is contrasted by the stud wall construction illustrated in FIG. 9 using a stud 2 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment the stud 2 used is substantially larger than the prior art studs 81, 82 shown in FIG. 8 and is located in appropriately sized single upper and lower tracks. This allows sheets of plasterboard 83 to be fastened to the outer face of the opposing sidewalls of the stud 2, whilst still providing an air gap between the plasterboard sheets that is substantially the same as that provided by the prior art stud wall construction illustrated in FIG. 8. The curved member 18 of the stud 2 provides similar resilience as that provided by the resilient portion 85 of the prior art brace 84. 

1. A wall stud comprising two opposing sidewalls interconnected by a spanning web, the spanning web comprising first and second substantially planar members connected to the respective sidewalls and a curved member interconnecting the first and second planar members, the curved member having at least one row of elongate slots formed therein along a longitudinal axis thereof.
 2. A wall stud according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of rows of elongate slots are formed along a longitudinal axis of a curved member, adjacent rows of elongate slots being longitudinally offset from one another.
 3. A wall stud according to claim 1, wherein the length of the elongate slots is at least twice the length of the interposed portions of the curved member.
 4. A wall stud according to claim 1, wherein the width of the curved member is approximately equal to the width of each of the first and second planar members.
 5. A wall stud according to claim 1, wherein the curved member is substantially semicircular.
 6. A wall stud according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the sidewalls has a longitudinal acute groove.
 7. A wall stud according to claim 6, wherein the acute grove is located substantially midway across the width of the sidewall.
 8. A wall stud according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the surfaces of the sidewalls facing away from one another has a plurality of depressions formed therein.
 9. A wall stud according to claim 8, wherein said depressions are pyramidal in shape.
 10. A wall stud according to claim 8 , wherein said depressions are formed by a deep knurling process.
 11. A wall stud according to claim 1, wherein a first non-woven tissue extends across opposing edges of the curved member, whereby an enclosed space is defined between said non-woven tissue and the curved member, and wherein a second non-woven tissue extends between said opposing sidewalls.
 12. A wall stud according to claim 1, wherein a sheet of material having sound insulating properties extends between the opposing sidewalls.
 13. A wall stud according to claim 12, wherein said sheet of material comprises glass or rock mineral wood, spun bonded polyester wool or foamed plastic. 